Communication devices are utilized for a wide variety of purposes including communication with other devices, access to network services, such as internet services, or the like. Communication devices may be utilized by a wide variety of users ranging from relative novices or other casual users who utilize a communication device for its more basic functionality to administrators or other more advanced users who may be involved with programming the communication device so as to define or enhance its functionality.
Security levels may therefore be defined for a communication device in order to provide controlled access to various functions and features of the communication device. For example, a relatively low security level may be associated with novice users of the communication device to permit the novice users to utilize the more basic functionality of the communication device, but to prevent access by the novice users to more advanced functionality, such as by preventing novice users from loading additional applications or otherwise modifying the applications executed by the communication device. In contrast, a relatively high security level may be associated with more advanced users, such as administrators, programmers or the like, to permit the more advanced users to load additional applications onto the communication device or to otherwise modify the performance of the communication device. For example, the security level associated with a more advanced user of a communication device may permit access to the application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) of the communication device so as to permit the more advanced users to upload applications written utilizing the APIs and SDKs of the communication device in order to modify the functionality of the communication device.
The various security levels of a communication device may be associated with respective codes that may be entered by a user in order to gain the desired access to the communication device. For example, the codes associated with the different security levels may be stored by a network device, such as by being stored within cloud storage. As such, a user may enter a code, such as via the keypad, a touchscreen or other software-based user interface. The code entered by the user may be transmitted by the communication device to the network for a comparison with predefined codes associated with the various security levels. The network may, in turn, inform the communication device as to whether the code entered by the user matches the code for a respective security level and, if so, the communication device may grant access to the user of the various privileges associated with the respective security level. This process requires the communication device to have a network connection such that in instances in which the communication device is offline or otherwise does not have a network connection, the user is unable to be verified in accordance with the various security levels and, as such, is unable to take advantage of the various privileges associated with the respective security level until the communication device secures a network connection and the code entered by the user is able to be verified.